The ocean’s most consequential workforce is microscopic. Plankton, marine bacteria, archaea, symbiotic microalgae: the species too small to see with the naked eye produce more than half of Earth’s oxygen, drive nutrient cycling, anchor every marine food web, and quietly regulate the climate. They are the engine room of the blue planet. They are also, for most students, invisible.

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation has spent fourteen years using one of the most underrated tools in ocean education to fix that: a paintbrush. The 2026 Science Without Borders® Challenge, the Foundation’s annual international student art competition, has just announced its winners. This year’s theme, Microscopic Marine Life, drew nearly 900 entries from students aged 11 to 19 in 65 countries. The brief asked them to make the invisible visible.

15 to 19 age group

First Place went to Sophia (Jiye) Lee, a 17-year-old at Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, New Jersey, for Ocean’s Hidden Jewel Box. The piece is a mixed-media work on a custom-cut wooden canvas shaped to mimic an oxygen molecule, two circular panels bridged by a rectangular insert. Inside the panels, microscopic marine organisms (diatoms, crystal-walled Acantharia) are rendered as gemstones glowing against deep ocean blacks.

Second Place went to Qing Yang Cheng, 17, from Canada, for The Deep Microcosm of Life, a detailed portrayal of the archaea that thrive around hydrothermal vents and the chemosynthetic ecosystems they sustain in the absence of sunlight. This is biology that operates by rules most surface readers do not know: not photosynthesis but the harvesting of sulfur, methane, and dissolved minerals into living tissue.

Third Place went to Hyang Yu Lee, 17, from the Republic of Korea, for Sea Manual: an inventive illustration of marine bacteria’s decomposition and nutrient-cycling work, rendered in the unmistakable visual language of an IKEA instructional manual. Step one: a fallen whale. Step two: bacterial decomposition. Step three: nutrients return to circulation. The joke lands; the science does too.

11 to 14 age group

First Place went to Olivia Shin, 14, a student in Calgary, for The Giant and the Invisible: A Story of Ocean Recycling. The work is charcoal on a piece of recycled cardboard. It depicts a whale fall: the slow decomposition of a blue whale carcass on the seafloor, broken down over decades by microscopic organisms whose collective work sustains entire deep-sea ecosystems. The material choice and composition are not incidental. Both reinforce the theme of interconnection.

Inside the studio: Olivia Shin at work

Olivia’s winning charcoal-on-cardboard piece did not arrive on the page fully formed. She worked through it over weeks, building the whale fall in layers, refining the bacterial mats and sediment textures with her teacher, Ms. Lily Kim of About Art Studio in Calgary. The process shots below offer a rare look at the discipline behind the final image.

Second Place went to Jieming Zhang, just 11 years old, from China, for The Touch of Life: a vivid illustration of the symbiotic microalgae (zooxanthellae) that live within coral tissue, photosynthesising and feeding their host in a partnership without which tropical reefs would collapse. With ocean warming bleaching reefs at scale, this is exactly the biology a generation of young readers needs to understand.

Third Place went to Eason Liang, 14, from Irvine, California, for The Invisible Engine of the Ocean, a piece that reimagines microscopic marine life as the literal machinery powering Earth’s natural systems. The metaphor is precise. Without the ocean’s microscopic life, the carbon pump stalls, food webs unravel, and atmospheric oxygen levels fall. The engine is not optional.

Why this matters

Each winner receives a scholarship of up to $500 from the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. The prize money is the smallest part of what the competition delivers. The larger return is what the students themselves carry forward.

Marine phytoplankton are responsible for roughly half of global net primary production, the foundation of nearly every ocean food web (Field et al., Science, 1998). The biological carbon pump driven by these organisms transports an estimated 10 to 12 gigatonnes of carbon from the surface ocean to the deep sea each year, a climate-regulating service whose collapse is one of the most studied risks of ocean warming (Henson et al., Nature Climate Change, 2022). When a 14-year-old draws a whale fall in charcoal, or an 11-year-old paints symbiotic algae inside a coral polyp, they are not making decorative work. They are translating the biggest planetary processes most adults never learn about into something a stranger can grasp at first glance.

Now in its 14th year, the Science Without Borders® Challenge has put generations of young artists through that translation exercise. The Foundation’s bet, year after year, is that the artists who learn to render the ocean’s hidden machinery on a canvas at 14 will be the same people negotiating policy on its behalf at 34. The 2026 cohort suggests the bet is paying off.

The full gallery of winning artwork and high-resolution images are available via the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation announcement. For information about the competition and the 2027 theme, visit LOF.org/SWBChallenge.

All artwork © the named artists, reproduced courtesy of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. SEVENSEAS Media thanks Liz Thompson, Chief Communications Officer at the Foundation, for sharing the announcement with our community.

April 10, 2026. The Board of Directors of The International SeaKeepers Society has announced a leadership transition, extending its deepest gratitude to outgoing Chairman Jay Wade and welcoming Dr. Mark Luther as the organization’s first scientist Chairman, a historic milestone for the ocean conservation NGO.

During his tenure, Jay Wade provided steady, thoughtful leadership, guiding the organization through a period of growth while remaining anchored in SeaKeepers’ mission to advance oceanographic research, conservation, and marine education. A passionate advocate for the yachting and boating community, Wade championed a vision of transforming private vessels into platforms for scientific discovery, expanding the organization’s global reach and strengthening its role as a bridge between ocean science and the maritime industry.

A first scientist Chairman for SeaKeepers

Dr. Mark Luther brings decades of expertise in physical oceanography and maritime systems, alongside a lifelong connection to the water. He earned his Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and currently serves as Professor and Director of the Center for Maritime and Port Studies at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science.

With over 30 years of experience supporting oceanographic observation systems, including longstanding work with NOAA’s Tampa Bay Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System, Dr. Luther has been at the forefront of integrating science with real-world maritime operations. His leadership extends across key regional and federal committees, where he collaborates closely with the U.S. Coast Guard, port authorities, and maritime stakeholders to address environmental challenges tied to marine transportation.

A dedicated member of the SeaKeepers community, Dr. Luther has served as Chair of the organization’s Scientific Advisory Council, helping to guide and elevate its scientific initiatives. He is also an avid boater and U.S. Coast Guard-licensed captain, having spent more than four decades navigating the waters of Tampa Bay and Florida’s west coast.

“With years of dedicated service to SeaKeepers, Mark brings a deep understanding of our mission to this role. It is exciting to see him step into the position of Chairman and help guide the organization forward.”

Jay Wade, outgoing Chairman, The International SeaKeepers Society

Dr. Luther’s appointment signals an exciting new chapter for SeaKeepers, one that deepens the organization’s scientific leadership while continuing to engage the global fleet in meaningful ocean research, education, and conservation.

About The International SeaKeepers Society. The International SeaKeepers Society works with the yachting community to take part in research, conservation, and educational efforts that advance the health of the ocean. Learn more at seakeepers.org or @seakeepers on social.

Adapted from a press release issued by The International SeaKeepers Society on April 10, 2026.